Taking a scenic drive from Lincoln west on SR 200 to SR 141 where we headed
south to the intersection with US 12 where we headed east back into Helena.
July
28, 2007.
We are staying in Lincoln
Road RV-Park Helena, MT less than a mile west of I-15 at exit 200. Lincoln
Road RV-Park is about 10-miles north of downtown Helena but in a very good position
to access everything in the area. $25.04 with Good Sam discount plus-taxes for
FHU in nice gravel pull thru sites with some shade. Free wifi was available but
no cable TV.
After visiting the town of Lincoln and the Hi-Country
Trading Post we continued west on SR 200 for another 20-miles until we finally
turned south on SR 141.
Once turning south on SR 141 we were following a
well watered valley that was producing prodigious amounts of hay. It is a really
beautiful valley, pastoral in every aspect.
It
seems like everyone has baled hay at the same time and not had time to get it
out of the fields yet.
Mike, a virtual friend that lives near here
wrote to provide more information about this picture:
" The rancher
that owns this land is taking part in an experimental program to control weeds
using sheep. Every summer, they bring about 700 sheep from Choteau and they feed
on the weeds on the opposite side of the road from the picture. The sheep *really*
blend into the landscape and I know a lot of people drive by them and never see
them. I don't know if they were near the road the day you drove by. They actually
have a couple shepherds ( along with 2 or 3 *big* dogs) that watch over the sheep
- they have a tiny trailer that they tow around to be in the vicinity of the sheep".
Thanks
to Mike we have this added information.
We totally missed the sheep. Like
he said they blended into the landscape or we were just blind. VBG
Ok,
here is a field that has not yet been cut.
This
is an odd sight, a pasture full of sheep. This field looks ready to be mowed and
baled yet it is full of these sheep. We wonder if this isn't an accident.
A
reader that lives near here "Mike" wrote to tell me that the sheep are
the pet project of the ranchers wife. He sold off his cattle a few years ago but
she still has about 80 sheep. It actually costs more to get a sheep shorn than
you can sell the wool for. The field they were/are grazing on is just about out
of grass. He is about the only rancher in the valley that still bales the small
90lb bales - everyone else uses big rounds or big squares that weigh close to
a ton.
I
am not sure they are planning on picking up this hay.
Large
bales of hay are everywhere.
If
this valley were to be named today I think it would have to receive the moniker
of "Hay Valley".
Then
for a moment the road veers away from that well watered valley and presents us
with this dry rangeland. Actually, this is what Montana looks like where irrigation
is not available.
